A common need among businesses is an area to store items. This can range from a small office supply room to a huge warehouse that fulfils thousands of orders a day.
There is a growing trend for online shopping. High street chains such as Crew Clothing and Joules have set up an online section of their business to cater to people who prefer the convenience of shopping from home rather than visiting shops. Businesses that are expanding their online sales need their warehouse reorganizing and new storage racks installed.
Despite what some sources would have us believe, not all goods sold in Britain are manufactured elsewhere, with several sectors, such as furniture manufacturers, making goods in British workplaces. This means they need need storage racks to store components and finished items.
An important business asset
Whatever your storage requirements are, you need to find a reliable and trusted storage rack supplier. You could go down to your local hardware superstore and you will find storage racks there suitable for domestic use, but probably not for heavy duty commercial use. It is important to find a good supplier who will become a valuable asset for your business.
Some storage rack suppliers are wholesalers or distributors that buy their racks from a manufacturer. The racks that they sell will be fit for purpose, but it is better to deal directly with a storage rack manufacturer. By dealing directly with them, you are cutting out the middleman and this can save time and money.
A manufacturer will be able to customise the racks. They can make racks to custom sizes, add extra shelving or design modifications that make them more suitable for specific uses.
Choose a manufacturer that has a reputation for high-quality racks. They will employ skilled metalworkers who weld tubular steel together to form very strong racks capable of carrying heavy loads. It helps to deal with a manufacturer based in the UK, as they will offer short delivery periods.
Expect top-class customer service. After the racks have been installed, any issues should be rectified quickly. A good storage rack supplier is interested in a long-term relationship. As a business expands, the rack supplier wants to be the first place a business comes to for more racks.
A good business relationship is based on excellent customer service and reliability. If a storage rack supplier promises to deliver by a quoted date, expect it to stick to that date. Expanding or creating a new warehouse is usually time critical, so a company needs to know when new racks are due to arrive so that work schedules can be adapted around the new installation and no interruption to business occurs.
Planning a new storage area
It is not easy to design the most efficient and organised system for a new storage area. Storage racks are just one component among many. A storage area is a system with many parts needing to smoothly work together. In a warehouse, goods arrive and must be put on storage racks, then picked from racks and packed, delivered or handed over to someone.
After planning where items will be stored, a system is required to quickly and easily locate any goods. There are various technologies do this, but the best ones direct workers to the exact location of each item they need.
If you buy your storage racks from a manufacturer that also makes other warehouse equipment such as picking trolleys, packing benches and storage equipment, consult them at the planning stage of a new storage system. They will advise you on aspects of the total system and supply all your storage and manual handling needs. They probably won’t supply warehouse management system software to record the progress of every item from when it is ordered, when it enters the building and when it leaves. A long established storage rack manufacturer will have extensive business contacts and will be able to put you in touch with the best warehouse software suppliers
Maintenance
A storage rack gets plenty of use in a busy warehouse. For safety reasons, racks need to be regularly checked for flaws. Quality storage racks made from stainless steel will last a long time as long as the maximum load specified by the manufacturer are not exceeded. Racks should need little maintenance. However, even premium quality storage racks are not invincible and can be damaged by collisions with forklifts. Crash barriers can be installed to minimise collision risks.
Manual handling equipment such as fully loaded trolleys can damage storage racks if they hit them with force. Storage racks are usually installed in long rows. A damaged section can easily be replaced. Sometimes replacing one upright length is enough to fully repair a section of the rack.
Rack damage can weaken the rack so that it is unable to support heavy loads. As long as racks are inspected and repaired as soon as flaws are spotted, they will be safe to work with. It helps to carry some spare racks in case of defects. If a large section is damaged it may not be repairable and must not be used until replaced. If there are no spare racks, it helps to have a rack manufacturer who can respond quickly and deliver replacement storage racks within a few days.
Warehouses should be safe places to work in, and workers need protected by keeping the workplace clean, so make cleaning warehouse racks part of the regular cleaning rota. Warehouse racks are easy to clean with a little water and cleaning solution. If the warehouse stores food or other perishable goods, make sure they are not left to go rotten on the warehouse racks.
Often warehouses have low demand items that stay on the shelves a long time before needed. They attract dust, which can be harmful to people with allergies, so dusting also needs to be part of the cleaning process.
Storage racks and shelving are basic but vital technology that stores large numbers of items. A good supplier of racks is a valuable business asset, so for all your storage rack needs, why not contact Steely Products via the form below?
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